Kaylea Kopsa picks grapes during an earlier harvest year at John Ernest Vineyard and Winery east of Tama. Chronicle file/John Speer

John Ernest Vineyard and Winery, rural Tama, took home a pair of top honors in the Iowa State Fair Commercial Wine competition announced last week.

A Gold was awarded to John Ernest for Hillside Heaven Rose. The winery also picked up a Bronze award for it’s Dusty Road White.

The competition uses an awards system based on how the wine should be shared.

A Gold award means the wine is one you would be “proud to take to a dinner or party.” A Silver award denotes a wine that you would be “proud to serve to friends in your home,” while a Bronze award signifies a wine that a person “will enjoy drinking at home.”

The judges selected winners through a blind taste test of 100 wines entered by 17 Iowa wineries. Nearly 70 wines were given awards.